Otto Freiherr von Brandenstein (21 October 1865 – 8 May 1945) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

. He joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

in 1885 and was promoted to

oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The S ...

in 1913. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Brandenstein served in the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

as a staff officer under the command of the generals

Gustav Freiherr von Hollen Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

and Eberhard von Claer. In 1918, colonel Brandenstein was the commander of the formed cavalry brigade Detachment Brandenstein which landed in

Loviisa Loviisa (; sv, Lovisa ; formerly Degerby) is a municipality and town of inhabitants () on the southern coast of Finland. It is located from Helsinki and from Porvoo. About 43 per cent of the population is Swedish-speaking. The municipality co ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

in 3 April. The brigade joined the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper '' Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil ...

and fought with the

Finnish Whites The Whites ( fi, Valkoiset, ; sv, De vita; rus, links=1, Белофи́нны, Belofínny, bʲɪɫɐˈfʲinɨ), or White Finland, was the name used to refer to the refugee government and forces under Pehr Evind Svinhufvud's first senate who op ...

. After the Battle of Lahti, the unit was attached to the Baltic Sea Division. Otto von Brandenstein was awarded the ''

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Ea ...

'' on 15 May 1918 and promoted to Major General on 18 October 1918. He resigned from the German Army in February 1919. Brandenstein was murdered by Soviet troops in May 1945.

References

1945 deaths Major generals of Prussia German Army generals of World War I People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) 1865 births German people executed by the Soviet Union German civilians killed in World War II German expatriates in Finland {{Germany-mil-bio-stub